Anti-corruption measures: Top anti-graft body details in-house steps to improve performance

Public trust in NAB increased in recent past

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has further improved its performance since 2014 when a survey conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) showed that public trust in it had improved.

In a statement released on Monday, NAB claimed that it had taken several measures in the last few years to combat corruption.

It said that this year, the figures of complaints, inquiries, and investigations were almost double since last year.

NAB claims that the increase in the number of complaints reflected enhanced public trust in it.

For improving efficiency, it has devised a comprehensive in-house “quantified grading system” to review the performances of the NAB officials annually; and an internal accountability mechanism (IAM) to weed out inefficient personnel.

Since the initiation of IAM two years ago, 83 officers have faced disciplinary proceedings – 22 received major penalties, 34 minor penalties, and four were exonerated; while the rest are pending.

The NAB has also developed a “monitoring and evaluation system” to oversee the maintenance of data at each stage including complaint entry, complaint verification, and investigation.

The system would also analyse qualitative and quantitative data to raise red flags against violators.

The accountability bureau has also prescribed a maximum ten-month time limit for efficient closure of cases.

During the given period, investigations will conduct complaint verification to inquiry to investigation; and a reference in the accountability court. To ensure uniformity and standardisation, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for investigation officers (IOs) have also been reviewed after ten years.

A system of combined investigation teams, comprising director, additional director, investigation officer, and a senior legal counsel has also been put in place.

This would lend quality to the work and also ensure that no single individual can influence the proceedings.

The NAB has also decided to give priority to cases, which are categorised as normal (Rs100-200million), complex (Rs500-1,000 million) and mega (Rs1,000 million and above) cases.

The NAB has also set up a Special Integrity Management Cell in the bureau’s headquarters; and established its first forensic science laboratory in the NAB Rawalpindi/Islamabad Regional Bureau.

The NAB also intended to establish Anti-Corruption Academy in Islamabad for capacity building of the NAB officers/officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.